The Kings still have the $2,814,000 room exception available, so it’s possible they’ll pay him more than they would have simply by guaranteeing his previous contract. But – unless they went overboard on this new deal – the flexibility provided by having him off the books for a month would justify the deal. Even though they didn’t sign anybody else, process trumps results (a test Sacramento has too often failed lately).

Moreland, an intriguing shot-blocker and rebounder, will likely compete with point guard David Stockton (unguaranteed) for the final roster spot behind the 14 Kings with guaranteed salaries. Moreland’s guarantee, ability and position give him the edge.

It will be interesting to see how Karl balances the minutes between the veteran but slower Koufos and the raw but athletic Willie Cauley-Stein, and how that balance evolves over the course of the season.

As for the Kings, Karl himself called them “combustible.” I think that’s perfect. Combustible mixtures can become jet fuel, or they can blow up. If feels like the Kings could do either.

Two seasons ago, Ryan Hollins played a limited role as a backup center for the Clippers, and when Doc Rivers got the chance to upgrade to Glen Davis he jumped at it and gave Big Baby more minutes. Last season, Hollins was an end of the bench center for the Sacramento Kings, a team that went out this summer and added Kosta Koufos and Willie Cauley-Stein to the front line. Hollins didn’t play 500 minutes total for either team the last two years.

He’s an end-of-the-bench big in the NBA, but this is the time of year teams round out the end of the bench. So there is some interest, reports Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports.

As noted, the Kings are now relatively deep up front, especially with new coach George Karl wanting to go smaller at times with Rudy Gay at the four. The Clippers have a pretty stocked front line as well (and 14 guys under contract) but they are apparently still thinking about a big as they have talked to Big Baby’s people as well. The Wizards may be looking for depth after Kevin Seraphin left, but they also will likely play smaller this year with Otto Porter and Jared Dudley getting time at the four behind Nene.

Hollins certainly can work as a backup NBA center, but he has limitations. He has no range outside three feet. He sets a good screen but all he can do is roll, he’s not a threat any other way. There’s not a great post up game, nor is he a good rebounder for a big, and he’s not a great rim protector at the NBA level.

Still, a team will give him a shot. If not one of these three, someone likely will pick him up by early in the season.

Thompson and the Cavaliers had reached an agreement early in free agency that was believed to have been centered on a five-year deal worth some $80 million. The problem with doing a deal at that number is that virtually everyone in Thompson’s talent range got substantially more, most receiving the NBA maximum salary, some for less years, but most for the same year one dollar amount.

Thompson’s camp pulled back from the $80 million number, wanting the Cavs to step up with more based on what virtually everyone else in Thompson’s peer range got.

I’m not sure who Thompson considers his peers, but I place him solidly behind Marc Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love, DeAndre Jordan, Greg Monroe, Draymond Green, Brook Lopez, Paul Millsap and Tim Duncan in the next group of big-man free agents.

Does that warrant more than the $16 million per season the Cavaliers reportedly offered?

Thompson might think he’s in the same group as Monroe (three-year max contract) and Green (five years, $82 million), but he’s not as good as those two. They deserve to be paid more than Thompson.

But deserve has only so much to do with it.

Thompson holds major leverage. If he takes the qualifying offer and leaves next summer, the Cavaliers won’t have the cap flexibility to find a comparable replacement. They can sign Thompson only because they have his Bird rights. That won’t be the case with outside free agents.

The Thunder were in the same boat with Kanter, which is why they matched his max offer sheet from the Trail Blazers. Thompson should point to that situation for comparison. The Cavaliers, though, would probably tell Thompson to bring them an offer sheet, like Kanter did with Oklahoma City.

But Thompson has even more leverage. He shares an agent, Rich Paul, with LeBron James. Cleveland surely wants to keep LeBron happy, and LeBron wants Thompson back.

Thompson might get more than $80 million. I wouldn’t be surprised if he got his max ($94,343,125 over five years). It just won’t be because his on-court peers all got that much. The max-level free agents – with the exception of Kanter – are a class above in actual ability.

But that Kanter comparison works for Thompson, and he and Paul should hammer it until the Cavaliers relent. No need to bring up that Kanter signed well after Thompson’s talks with Cleveland broke down. This is only minimally a discussion about logic and production.

It’s mostly about leverage, and no matter what flawed viewpoints got us here, Thompson still has leverage.

So does his ability. Holyfield faces a steep increase in competition from the Southland Conference. His size advantage is much less pronounced in the NBA, and he has yet to show the skills necessary to handle it.

But Memphis could use a third center for insurance. Gasol is on the wrong side of 30. Wright, though healthy last season, played just 58, 64, 49, 37, 39 and 38 games in his other six NBA seasons. Zach Randolph could handle the position if pressed, but that’s not ideal.

It makes sense for the Grizzlies to waive Holyfield and assign his D-League rights to their affiliate, the Iowa Energy. It also makes sense for Memphis to find a third center, someone better than Holyfield. Until the latter happens, I wouldn’t consider the former a total lock.